The subject matter disclosed herein relates to variable sweep angle motor drives and, more particularly, to variable sweep angle motor drives for windshield washer systems.
Windshield wiper systems are used in aircraft to clean the windshield during rain. Current wiper system technology includes motor converter internal drive systems that enable a fixed sweep angle and an offset parking angle by way of an eccentric with a wrap spring and a crank rocker mechanism. That is, in many wiper systems, output shaft oscillation produces the sweep angle and is achieved by the crank rocker mechanism. The offset parking angle, on the other hand, is achieved by a dynamic varying of the eccentric position or an effective link length using the wrap spring while the motor is operated in reverse direction. The two positions of the eccentric are locked by the wrap spring and a stopper on the link.
A drawback of the current wiper systems exists, however, in that the sweep and park angles are fixed and cannot be changed once the hardware design is set.